Hello catfish freaks,

today I would like to introduce you in two articles of the current issue of DATZ:

Karsten Schönherr “A new network pattern Ancistrus from Suriname” (“Ein neuer Netzmuster-Antennenwels aus Suriname”)

Karsten presents an Ancistrus from Suriname, from the Mindrineti River (in the Commewijne basin) and from Cottica River. This Ancistrus differs from many other Ancistrus by a network pattern on the head. Until now, we know this cafish as Ancistrus sp. „Reticulate“. In this article, this catfish get the L-number L 503, so now Ancistrus sp. “L 503”.

Karsten brought animals of this specie along one of his excursions in Suriname. Meanwhile, he was also able to reproduce this specie. Propagation and rearing seem completely unproblematic.

Frank Schäfer “Cactus catfish scientifically described” (“Kaktuswels wissenschaftlich beschrieben”)

Reason for the article is the description of Pseudacanthicus major (L 186) by Chamon and Costa e Silva in “Pseudacanthicus major: description of one of the largest known Loricariidae (Hypostominae: Ancistrini), a species from rio Tocantins basin, Brazil“.

Frank briefly discusses the history of the cactus catfishes (genus Pseudacanthicus) and represents the distinction from the catfish of the genus Acanthicus.

He sees the distinction with Pseudacanthicus hystrix somewhat problematic, since the type material from Pseudacanthicus hystrics was lost.

On the other hand, Frank considers Pseudacanthicus sp. “L 64” – although not explicitly mentioned in contrast to L 186 – as Pseudacanthicus major.

Enjoy reading of Amazonas DATZ.